Method and apparatus to permit efficient multiple parallel image processing of large jobs

• US 6,825,943 B1
• Filed: 11/12/1999
• Issued: 11/30/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/12/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Electronics For Imaging Incorporated
• Original Assignee: T/R Systems, Inc. (Electronics For Imaging Incorporated)
• Inventors: Raines, Michael D., Pennington, Robert Gregory, Barry, Michael W., Tompkins, E. Neal
• Primary Examiner(s): Evans, Arthur G.
• Application Number:
  US09/438,228
• Time in Patent Office: 1,845 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1.1, 358/1.6, 358/1.13, 358/1.15, 358/1.16, 358/1.17, 358/1.18, 358/403, 358/444, 358/445, 358/450, 358/453, 345/530, 345/545, 345/546, 345/502, 345/520, 345/505, 345/506, 345/522
• US Class Current: 358/1.15
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/00 Arrangements for producing a permanent visual presentation of the output data , e.g. computer output printersprinting or plotting combined with another operation, e.g. with conveying, G06K17/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/1857 involving parallel processing in the same printing apparatus

Abstract

The present invention disclosed and claimed herein comprises a system and method for parallel conversion processing of a print job in a print system having a plurality of RIP engines, comprising the steps of: defining the print job for RIP of select portions of the print job in parallel; partitioning the print job into select portions according to defined boundaries; generating a substitute RIP instruction for each select portion of the print job; and processing the RIP requirements of each select portion in an assigned one of the plurality of RIP engines according to the substitute RIP instruction.

Claims

1. A method for parallel conversion processing of a print job in a print system having a plurality of RIP engines, comprising the steps of:

defining the print job for RIPing of select portions of the print job in parallel;

partitioning the print job into select portions according to defined boundaries for processing in parallel;

generating a substitute RIP instruction for each select portion of the print job; and

processing the RIP requirements of each select portion in an assigned one of the plurality of RIP engines according to the substitute RIP instruction.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of defining the print job comprises the steps of:

spooling the print job file into storage;

updating document information in a job control file associated with the print job file; and

processing document information obtained from the job control file.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of updating document information includes the steps of:

making assumptions about a document parameter to enable an estimating engine to estimate the value of the document parameter; and

estimating the value of the document parameter.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of processing document information comprises the steps of:

engaging a language processor for extracting selected document information from the contents of the job control file;

reading the contents of the job control file; and

defining boundaries for partitioning the print job into select portions.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the language processor includes a job estimator for estimating the total number of pages in the print job.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of partitioning the print job comprises the steps of:

determining whether single or multiple RIPs are to be performed;

partitioning the job into one or more select portions to be RIPed if a multiple RIP is to be performed, wherein at least a portion of less than all of the print job is selected for processing; and

defining the RIP requirements for each select portion of the print job.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of determining includes the step of:

testing the print job control file for satisfaction of a boundary condition.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of defining the RIP requirements comprises the steps of:

accessing the document information and RIP requirements for the entire print job;

determining the range of each select portion to be separately RIPed; and

identifying the RIP requirements for each select portion with the determined range of each select portion to be RIPed.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of generating a substitute RIP instruction comprises the steps of:

configuring the substitute RIP instruction to perform RIP only upon an identified select portion of the print job;

resetting the predefined operator instructions associated with the print job file as input to the print system;

appending the substitute RIP instruction associated with each identified select portion of the print job to the print job; and

selecting a RIP engine to perform RIP upon each identified select portion of the print job.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of processing the RIP requirements of each select portion comprises the steps of:

distributing the print job in parallel replication, each print job replication having appended thereto a particular substitute RIP instruction associated therewith, to each select one of a plurality of RIP engines associated with the identified select portion of the print job to be RIPed in parallel;

performing, in each select one of the plurality of RIP engines, the RIP of the print job distributed to each select one of the plurality of RIP engines; and

rendering each select portion of the print job for which RIP according to the appended substitute RIP instruction was performed.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of performing the RIP of the print job comprises the steps of:

reading, in each select one of the plurality of RIP engines, the appended substitute RIP instruction to identify the select portion for which RIP is to be performed and to identify the remaining portion for which a modified RIP is to be performed;

RIPing, in each RIP engine selected to RIP the select portion of the print job, of the select portion of the print job according to the appended substitute RIP instruction; and

performing the modified RIP upon the remaining portion of the print job.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of rendering comprises the steps of:

sending each select portion of the print job, for which RIP according to the substitute RIP instruction was performed, to a selected print engine;

printing each select portion of the print job; and

merging the printed outputs.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of rendering comprises the steps of:

determining whether the select portion is to be displayed;

sending the select portion of the print job, for which RIP according to the substitute instruction was performed, to a selected display; and

displaying the select portion of the print job.

14. A method for processing a PDL document file distributable in multiple to a plurality of process engines coupled in parallel comprising the steps of:

determining allocation parameters for defining a select and a remaining portion of each multiple of the document file to be distributed to a select one of the plurality of process engines;

generating instructions, for operating respectively according to a first process and a second process on the select and remaining portions of each document file, for execution by each select one of the plurality of process engines; and

appending the instructions, generated for each multiple of the document file, to the associated document file for execution by the select ones of the plurality of process engines upon distribution of the respective document files thereto.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of:

executing, in each process engine receiving distribution of a multiple of a document file, the first process upon the select portion of the document file and the second process upon the remaining portion of the document file.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the first process comprises the step of:

executing conversion processing upon the defined select portion of each multiple of the document file in each process engine receiving a multiple of the document file.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of executing conversion processing comprises the step of:

performing conversion processing upon the defined select portion.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of executing conversion processing comprises the step of:

performing conversion of the defined select portion from a first page format structure to a second page format structure.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the first process comprises the step of:

executing conversion processing upon the defined select portion of each multiple of the document file in each process engine receiving a multiple of the document file.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the second process comprises the step of:

executing modified conversion processing upon the remaining portion of each multiple of the document file in each process engine receiving a multiple of the document file wherein some or all of the remaining portion is bypassed during the modified conversion processing.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the step of executing modified conversion processing comprises the step of:

performing modified conversion processing upon the remaining portion wherein some or all of the remaining portion is bypassed during the modified conversion processing.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the step of executing modified conversion processing comprises the step of:

performing modified conversion of the remaining portion from a first page format structure to a second page format structure wherein some or all of the remaining portion is bypassed during the modified conversion.

23. The method of claim 15, wherein the second process comprises the step of:

executing modified conversion processing upon the remaining portion of each multiple of the document file in each process engine receiving a multiple of the document file wherein some or all of the remaining portion is bypassed during the modified conversion processing.

24. The method of claim 14, wherein the process engine comprises:

a conversion processor.

25. The method of claim 14, wherein the step of determining allocation parameters comprises the steps of:

spooling the document file to an input processor;

engaging a language processor for developing the allocation parameters; and

defining boundaries of the select portions of the document file for distribution.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the step of engaging a language processor comprises the steps of:

monitoring the document file being spooled for extracting page header information; and

developing the allocation parameters therefrom.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the step of developing the allocation parameters includes the steps of:

estimating the number of pages in a document file; and

allocating a range of the number of pages to the select portion for processing by a select one of the plurality of process engines.

28. The method of claim 14, wherein the step of generating instructions comprises the steps of:

determining that the first process, a conversion step, is to be performed on the select portion;

determining that the second process, a modified conversion step, is to be performed upon the remaining portion;

resetting the original instruction operators associated with the input document file; and

accessing the instruction operators associated with the first and second processes for appending them to the associated portions of the document file.

29. The method of claim 14, wherein the step of appending the instructions comprises the step of:

substituting the instruction operators associated with the first and second processes respectively for operating upon the select and remaining portions of the document file.

30. The method of claim 14, wherein the process engine comprises:

a processor for performing document file conversion.

31. The method of claim 14, wherein the process engine comprises:

a virtual processor for performing document file conversion.

34. The method of claim 31, wherein the primary document comprises a page independent format and the second page delineated format comprises a page dependent format.

35. The method of claim 31, wherein the first and second delineated formats are the same.

32. A method for converting a primary document from a first page delineated format to a secondary document in a second page delineated format, comprising the steps of:

accessing the first document; and

converting only select pages of the primary document to the second page delineated format wherein the converted pages comprise the secondary document and wherein the secondary document has less pages than the primary document.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the step of converting requires access to a larger portion of the primary document than that associated with the select pages.

36. A method for converting a primary document from a first page delineated format to a secondary document in a second page delineated format, comprising the steps of:

accessing the primary document; and

converting select pages of the primary document from the first page delineated format to the second page delineated format, the step of converting being a function of the parameters of the select pages.